The Peter McCormack Show

Location: Los Angeles Date: Thursday 27th May Project: Thiel Capital Role: MD Bitcoin can be a toxic place. If you question a narrative or fall on the wrong side of a debate, you will quickly find yourself on the receiving end of the 'bitcoin plebs', and rarely a day passes without a fight of some kind exploding on Twitter. Earlier this year, Eric Weinstein found himself amongst a heated discussion after challenging the narratives of bitcoiners across Clubhouse and Twitter. Eric is a cultural commentator who has been aware of Bitcoin since as early as 2010. Whilst supporting Bitcoin and the community, he does not consider himself a bitcoiner. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin maximalism & toxicity, Elon Musk and whether Bitcoin fixes everything. My friend Travis Kling joins me as co-host for this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Friday 28th May Project: lynalden.com Role: Macroeconomist Over the last few weeks, the ESG narrative regarding Bitcoin has been growing, and we have seen a constant stream of misinformed FUD surrounding the energy sources and usage of Bitcoin miners. The primary catalyst for this narrative, and the recent drop in price, was when Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla had "suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin" due to their concerns "about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions". While the validity of this claim was quickly debunked, the narrative is spreading. With growing pressure to reduce energy consumption and comply with the ESG movement, what impact will this have on the Bitcoin market? In this interview, I talk to Lyn Alden, a macroeconomist and investment strategist. We discuss new sources of demand for bitcoin, ESG, Tesla, and misconceptions about fossil fuels and "green" energy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Chicago Date: Wednesday 26th May Project: Kraken Role: Growth Lead When Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla had "suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin" due to their concerns "about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions", the market went into freefall, dropping from around $58k to just below $30k in just a few days. Since then, the market has reacted whenever Musk tweets. On Monday, he stated that he had "Spoke with North American Bitcoin miners" in a meeting set up by Michael Saylor and that "they committed to publish current & planned renewable usage & to ask miners WW to do so. Potentially promising." While this may seem like positive news, behind-closed-door meetings are not something that bitcoiners are fans of. The meeting was somewhat reminiscent of the New York Agreement. The future of Bitcoin should be decided by the consensus of the entire network, not a small, wealthy and hugely influential committee. Some feel that appeasing one billionaire is a dangerous precedent to set. Are we heading down a slippery slope? And what will this mean for Bitcoin? In this interview, I talk to Dan Held, the Growth Lead at Kraken. We discuss the concept of leaders in Bitcoin, antifragility, and dispel some FUD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Monday 24th May Project: The Human Rights Foundation & Castle Island Ventures Role: Chief Strategy Officer & Partner Bitcoin is in the midst of an immense cycle of FUD. In the last few weeks alone, Elon Musk has questioned the energy consumption, China has again imposed regulations on bitcoin miners, and even the Pope raised fears concerning fossil fuels. As Bitcoiners, we are used to the constant stream of attacks, but often the disparagement is down to a lack of understanding of Bitcoin, with people viewing it as just a visa-like payment processor. As Alex Gladstein says, Bitcoin "is not a fintech company competing with Visa. It is a decentralized asset competing to be the new global reserve currency, aiming to inherit the role gold once had and the role the dollar holds today." If bitcoin does become the new global reserve currency, superseding the dollar, will that usher in a more peaceful world? And what impact will it have on equality and foreign policy? In this interview, I talk to Alex Gladstein, the Chief Strategy Officer at The Human Rights Foundation and Nic Carter, a Partner at Castle Island Ventures. We discuss the petrodollar system, moving to a bitcoin standard and the benefits that it would have on society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: El Salvador Date: Monday 10th May Project: Independent Role: Bitcoin Writer Growing food, gunpowder and the printing press, while these don't appear to have much in common, they have been the catalyst for some of the most fundamental shifts ever seen in human history. The agricultural revolution led man from small groups of hunter-gatherers to relatively large settled communities; this provided the basis for centralised political structures. The gunpowder revolution changed warfare. It removed the ultimate power of a knight on horseback and rebalanced power back towards the people. With the advent of the printing press, the spread of ideas became possible on a previously unimaginable scale; this, in turn, turbocharged the Renaissance and removed power from the church. Each one has been responsible for revolutionising how society operates and transformed people's lives. With Bitcoin, are we now amidst the next significant revolution that will change the course of history? In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin writer Robert Breedlove. We discuss the mega-political variables that shape society, the role of technology, and the logic of violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Guatemala Date: Thursday 20th May Project: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder The last 48 hours have been one of the craziest in Bitcoin, with the price crashing -51% from its peak. Back in April, we were hovering around $60k when a significant number of miners in China went offline due to power plant disruption; after a brief selloff, prices began to recover. Last week a tweet about Bitcoin's energy usage from Elon Musk triggered another downturn in the market. A "tidal wave of young coins" flooded into exchanges to sell, leading to a lot of leveraged traders getting liquidated and ultimately a capitulation to around $30k. While this dip was extreme, significant dips in a bull market are not uncommon, and bitcoin is already up around 40% from the lows. So was this just a minor blip, or does it signal the end of the bull market? In this interview, I talk to on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet, Willy Woo. We discuss what caused the dip, who's buying it up, and Willy's new price targets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: El Salvador Date: Saturday May 8th Project: USC Marshall School of Business Role: Adjunct Professor of Finance For a long time, asset managers in the traditional finance world have largely ignored bitcoin. Often using outdated and debunked theories as to why bitcoin is another tulip bubble that boils the oceans, kills polar bears and used by drug dealers and criminals. Over the last year, this has begun to change, institutions have woken up to Bitcoin, and they are beginning to see it for what it is, the soundest money the world has ever seen and a tool for freedom. Nik Bhatia says that Bitcoin has changed monetary technology as we know it. It is now the fiduciary duty for asset managers to consider bitcoin, not only for the economic benefit but also for societal change. In this interview, I talk by Author and Professor of Finance Nik Bhatia. We discuss his recent article 'Asset Managers, Owning Bitcoin Is Now Your Fiduciary Duty', currency debasement and how Bitcoin is the new monetary reality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: El Salvador Date: Saturday May 8th Project: tomerstrolight.medium.com Role: Writer The inflationary aspects of fiat money and the ultimate control wielded by the central banks create a rigged game that forces us to consume rather than save. As Tomer Strolight puts it, 'time-travelling thieves are stealing our energy and wealth'. As the soundest money the world has ever known, the magical qualities of Bitcoin fix this. Tomer Strolight has been pondering Bitcoin's profound implications for nearly a decade. His writings are unique, elegant tidbits of helpful perspectives for bitcoiners, new and old. In this interview, I talk to Tomer, and we discuss his many short articles on Bitcoin, the dark magic of fiat money, and why Bitcoin is the most important thing happening in the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: El Salvador Date: Friday 30th April Company: BTC Media Role: CEO & Co-Founder On June 4th & 5th, the Bitcoin world will descend on Miami for the largest Bitcoin-only conference in history. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, conferences and gatherings have been postponed and cancelled. It is fitting that a conference centred around Bitcoin, a tool for freedom that allows people to bypass government control, will be one of the first gatherings of its kind in a post-covid world. With the massive increase in retail and institutional interest in bitcoin, it looks to be an event on a scale not seen before for bitcoin. The lineup of speakers ranges from Michael Saylor to Jack Dorsey and Nick Szabo to Tony Hawk. In this interview, I talk to David Bailey, CEO of BTC Media. We discuss the massive Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, maximalism, hyperbitcoinisation, and the bitcoin revolution. For tickets, head over to their website and use promo code "WBD" to save 10% off your tickets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: El Salvador Date: Saturday May 8th Company: Strike, Ed Carpenter Racing Role: CEO, Owner Ed Carpenter lives life at over 373 km/h. He's worked his whole life for his dream of racing in the Indy 500. And now, with 18 Indy races under his belt, the finish line is within his sights. But Indy racing requires millions per year in funding, and the way people consume entertainment is changing. Ed's team needed to do something different, and a dose of orange pills gave them an idea. A cold email to Jack Mallers may just have changed the game forever. The two have joined forces and are looking to the Bitcoin community to raise money to enter car number 21 into the Indy500 covered in the Bitcoin logo. In this interview, I talk to Jack Mallers and IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter. We discuss Ed's racing aspirations, entering a Bitcoin car into the Indy500 and supporting open source development and Bitcoin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.